Flushing apparatus.



A No. 638,002. Patented Nov. 28, I899.

J. W. BERRY.

FLUSHING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Feb. 10, 1898.) (No Model.)

lH'iWil I I 1' "h ml I I II I I II Il l ll lll' l 'l l l lll l l l I IIII In Inlllll llllllllll III-ll NITED" STATES PATENT ries,

FLUSHING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Eatent No. 638,002. dated November28, 1899. Application filed February 10, 1898. eierial No. 669,813. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it ntay concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES W. BERRY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Iowa City, in the county of Johnson and State of Iowa, haveinvented a new and useful Flushing Apparatus, of which the following isa specification. My invention relates to a flushing appa ratus designedparticularly for use in connection with sewers, and the object in viewis to provide an apparatus of the siphon type wherein the constructionand arrangement of parts are such as to render the operations of makingand breaking the siphon action certain, or, in other words, to insurecertainty of operation when the surface of the water in the tank reachesa predetermined elevation and when the water which is being withdrawn bysiphon action is depressed to another predetermined level.

A further object of my invention is to provide means whereby impuritiesof the Water are carried out during the siphon action to prevent theaccumulation thereof at the bot tom of the tank, where the sediment mayinterfere subsequently with the accuracy of operation.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in thefollowing description, and the novel features thereof will beparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of a flushing apparatusconstructed in accordance with myinvention, the water-levels being inthe positions which they occupy when, the siphon action having beenbroken, the tank is about to be refilled. Fig. 2 is a similar view ofthe apparatus, showing the water-levels just prior to the discharge ofthe seal from the relief tube or trap, and hence before the making ofthe, siphon action.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

The siphon forming the main element of the flushing apparatus embodyingmy invention consists of a descending arm 1, an ascending arm 2, and aninlet-arm 3, the latter constructed in the form of a dome arranged uponthe floor of a tank 4, whereby the lower edge of the dome may be sealedby a comparatively slight depth or film of water in the bottom of thetank. The inlet end of the descending arm 1 of the siphon projectsupward through the floor of the tank into the dome orinlet-arm 3andterminatesin a plane approximately midway of the altitude of the dome,and in the construction of the apparatus in accordance with experimentswhich I have made I preferably dispose said inlet end of the descendingarm 1 in a plane (indicated at 1)) such that the capacity of the domebetween the plane I) and the bottom or floor is equal to the capacity ofthe descending arm 1. Also communicating with the interior of the domeis an auxiliary inlet-conveyer 5, which may be constructed in the formof a semicircular elbow, as shown in the drawings, said conveyercommunicating at its extremities with openings in the floor ofthe tank,respectively within and without the area of the dome, whereby waterpasses from the tank into the dome through this conveyer instead ofpassing under the lower edge of the dome or between the lower edge ofthe dome and the door of the tank, as in the ordinary practice. Thispassage of the water through the conveyer 5 or the equivalent thereof isof advantage in that it enables me to arrange the dome with its loweredge in contact with the fioorof the tank without interfering with theoperation of the apparatus,(or, in other words, without interfering witha free communication of water from the tank to the dome,) and thusenables me to seal the lower edge of the dome by means of acomparatively shallow layer or film of water upon the floor of the tank.Furthermore, the use of said conveyer enables me to obtain such aforcible flow of water from the tank into the dome as to carry therewiththose impurities which are ordinarily held in suspension in water, andthus prevent the choking of the channel by which the above-mentionedcommunication is attained. Furthermore, the inlet-arm ordome 3 isprovided with a sniff 6, which in the construction illustrated consistsof a tube of small diameter havingits loweror inlet end located in thewall of the dome adjacent to the plane of the floor of the tank or thelower edge of the dome and its outlet end within the dome, approximatelyin the plane of the upper end of the descending arm 1 of the siphon. In

the ordinary practice a sniff-hole is provided in the inlet-arm of thesiphon to recharge the descending arm of the siphon at the completion ofthe siphon action; but I have found in practice that as the water in thetank-is discharged during the siphon action and the level of the surfacethereof reaches the plane of the sniff'hole to break the siphon thewater frequently interferes (by choking the sniff-hole more or less)with the admission of a sufficient quantity of air to properly supplythe descending arm of the siphon. On the other hand, by employing thesniff-tube, ofwhich the upperor outlet end is elevated to or near theplane of the inlet 7 end of the descending arm of the siphon, when thelevel of the water in the tank reaches the plane of the inlet end of thesniff-tube a free unobstructed passage is afforded through thesniff-tube to allow the necessary influx of air at the proper moment tocompletely charge the descending arm 1, and hence by this construction Iam enabled to obtain auniformity of operation which I have foundimpossible with the ordinary construction of sniff-hole.

The outlet or ascending arm 2 of the siphon is adapted to communicatewith a sewer 11 or other eonveyer to be flushed, and assuming that thetank is supplied continuously with Water through an inlet 12 or theequivalent thereof the operation of the apparatus (assuming that thesaid ascending arm 2 is completely charged with water and that wateroccupies the descending arm 1 to an elevation, indicated at a, in theplane of the outlet end of the ascending arm, thus filling the main trapor elbow by which said descending and ascending arms are connected, andthat the water in the tank and dome-is at the level of the inlet end ofthe sniff-tube, as shown in Fig. 1,) is as follows: As the water risesin the tank it enters the dome through the conveyer 5, and hence risesin the dome toward the inlet end of the descending arm 1; but the riseof the water within the dome is less rapid than that in the tank outsideof the dome, for the reason that the air contained in the dome is beingforced by the water into the descending arm 1 of the siphon, and thisair must displace a portion of the water in said arm 1. Obviously theair will be compressed in the upper portion of the dome or that portionabove the level of the water therein and in the portion of thedescending arm above the level of the water in the latter, and theextent of this compression will increase as the water in the arm 1descends, whereby the air-pressure may be equal to the weight of acolumn of water of a height equal to the difference between the level ofthe water in the arm 1 and the level of the water in'the arm 2. If thevolume of air in the inlet-arm 3 of the siphon is sufficient to forcethe water entirely out of the descending arm 1 and blow the'water out ofthe arm 2, the relief of pressure upon the surface of the water in thearm 3 will be sufficient to cause the water to overflow the upper end ofthe inlet-arm 1, and thus complete the siphon; but it has been found inpractice that as the level of the Water in the descending arm 1 approaches the main trap, by which said arm 1 is connected with the arm 2,(and particularly in siphons of large diameter,) air will leak from thedescending arm 1 into the ascending arm 2 through the trap,'such leakagebeing in the form of bubbles, and while each bubble relieves slightlythe air-pressure in the arm 1 such relief is insufficient to cause themaking of the siphon, or, in other words, to cause an efficient overflowof water from the inlet-arm 3 into the descending arm 1, with the resultthat there is a series of small discharges of Water from the arm 2, andthere is no siphon act-ion. After a partial discharge of air by way ofbubbles from the descending arm 1 the water falls back from theascending arm 2, or the space formerly occupied by the discharged air issupplied by a small flow of water from the arm 3 into the arm 1 withoutstarting the siphon. In order to avoid these partial discharges, andinsure a positive starting of the siphon when the level of the Water inthe arm 1 is depressed to a predetermined point, I employ a relief-tube7, consisting of vertical or approximately vertical inlet and outletarms 8 and 9 and a connecting-arm 10, a small or auxiliary trap d beingformed at the connected lower ends of the outlet-arm 9 and theconnecting-arm 10. The inlet end of the inlet-arm 8 is in communicationwith the descending arm 1 of the siphon, the outlet end of theoutlet-arm 9 is arranged adjacent to the outlet end of the ascending arm2 of the siphon, and the trap d is arranged below the horizontal planeof the inlet end of the arm 8. Preferably the discharge end of theoutlet-arm 9 of the relief-tube is elevated slightly above the plane ofthe outlet end of the ascending arm 2 of the siphon for a purposehereinafter explained.

With the aid of this relief-tube the operation of the apparatus isas'follows: \Vhen the level of the water in the descending arm 1 isdepressed to the plane of the inlet end of the relief-tube, the pressureof the air in the upper portion of the arm 1 supports a column of Waterin the ascending arm 2 of the siphon and also a column of water in theoutlet-arm 9 of the relief-tube. Said outlet-arm 9 of the relief-tube,however, is of greater length than the difference between the horizontalplanes of the relief-tube inlet and the discharge end of the ascendingarm 2 owing to the fact that the trap d. of the relief-tube is arrangedbelow the plane of said relief-tube inlet. Therefore the level of theWater in the descending arm 1 may be depressed to the plane of the trapd or below the plane of the inlet end of the relief-tube before thelevel of the water in the descending arm of the relief-tube has beendepressed to the plane of the trap d, and the air cannot blow out thecontents of the relief-tube and escape until the levels of the Waterhave been still further reduced to overcome the resistance of thecontents of the ascending arm of the relief-tube. Inthe drawings thedifference in levels between the trap (Z and the relief-tube inlet atthe lower end of the arm 8 of the relief-tube is slight; but even withthis small difference if the water in the relief-tubeisblown out by thepres sure of air in the descending arm 1 when the level of the waterinsaid arm 1 is in the plane of the trap d the pressure in the arm 1 willbe relieved sufficiently to cause an inflow of Water from the inlet-arm3 to the arm 1 to complete the siphon; but it is obvious that toincrease the certainty of operation of the apparatus the trap d may bedropped to any desired distance below the relief-trap inlet. The lack ofcertainty in the operation of an apparatus of this class depends uponthe fact that when a relief of the air-pressure in the descending armoccurs the level of the water in said descending arm is liable to risesufficiently to cut oif further escape of air before the water in theinlet-arm 3 can effectually overflow the inlet end of the descending arm1, and it is obvious that by so arranging the parts as to necessitatethe depression of the water in the descending arm 1 to a considerabledistance below the relief-tube inlet an efficient relief of air-pressurein said descending arm may be accomplished before the water can rise toclose the reliefinlet.

In practice I prefer also to extend the outlet-arm 9 of the relief-tubetoa pointslightly above the level of the discharge end of the ascendingsiphon-arm 2, such extension be ing made with two objects. In the firstplace, by arranging the discharge end of the outlet-arm 9 above thelevel of the discharge end of the ascending arm 2 the effiux of waterfrom the latter does not interfere at the proper point in the operationof the apparatus with the efficient discharge of water from therelief-tube to relieve the air-pressure in the descending'arm 1, and, inthe second place, such extension of the outlet-arm 9 increases theheight of the column of water in said arm, which is counterbalanced bythe air-pressure in the descending arm 1 of the siphon, and thereforethe level of the water in said descending arm 1 must be depressedslightly below the trap d before the pressure of air in the arm 1 willbe sufficient to blow out the water from the relief-tube. In otherWords, when the level of the water in the arm 1 reaches the plane of thetrap 61 a further addition of water to the tank necessary to increasethe pressure of air in the upper portion of the arm 1 will be necessaryto overcome the weight of the column of water between the trap d and thedischarge end of the outlet-arm 9, and hence there will be a stillgreater interval between the level of the water 0 (see Fig. 2) and therelief-tube inlet before the discharge from the relief-tube allows therelief of the air-pressure.

Owing to the small diameter of the relieftube, I have found that thewater in the descending arm 1 cannot be depended upon solely to refillthe relief-tube, and thus to insure the efficient sealing of saidrelief-tube prior to the breaking of the siphon action I have found itdesirable to elevate the discharge end of the outlet-arm 9 only slightlyabove the level of the discharge end of the ascending arm 2 of thesiphon, whereby during the continuance of the siphon action water inpassing from the arm 2 into the sewer 11 will overflow the discharge endof the outlet-arm 9 and a portion thereof will enter said outletarm. Theinlet-arm of the relief-tube receives its charge after the siphon hasbeen broken or after the discontinuance of the siphon action, itbeingobvious that the rise of the water in the descending arm 1 of thesiphon to a plane above the upper end of the arm 8 of the relief-tubewill insure the filling of the latter. Thus I am enabled to charge therelief-tube from both ends. Should this operation of charging therelief-tube from both ends result in confining a small column of air inthe relief-tube, the operation of the apparatus as described will not beaffected. The pressure of air in the descending arm 1 must be sufficientto overcome the resistance due to the weight of a column of water fromthe trap d to the discharge end of the outlet-arm 9, or, in other words,equal to the length of said outlet-arm 9, before-the contents of therelief-tube will be blown out, and as a matter of fact said pressure ofair in the descending arm 1 must under ordinary circumstances beslightly greater than that necessary to support a column of water equalto the length of the outlet-arm 9 owing to the frictional resistanceoffered by the walls of the relief-tube to the passage of watertherethro'ugh. Furthermore, .when air has been caught in the relief-tubeduring the refilling thereof it is obvious that a compression of thisconfined air must be accomplished in order to apply suflicient pressureto the water to raise a column of a depth equal to the length of theoutlet-arm 9.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the inlet end of thearm 8 of the relief-tube is arranged in a depressed position orcommunicates with. the descending arm 1 of the siphon at a point belowthe normal water-level in said siphon-arm, and thus the contents of therelief-tube are not exposed to the pressure of the air in the upperportion of the siphon-arm 1 until the level of the water in saidsiphon-arm has been depressed to the plane of said inlet opening or portof the arm 8. Any tendency of the air-pressure in the arm 1 to affectthe contents of the relief-tube will serve simply to force water fromthe arm 1 into the relief-tube to increase the charge in the latter.Thus one object in view in connecting the inlet end of the relief-tubewith the descending siphon-arm at a point below the normal water-levelis to insure the efficient charging of the relief-tube. The ne- ICC IIO

cessity, however, for thus adapting the relieftube to becharged afterdiscontinuance of the siphon action from the contents of the descendingarm of the siphon when the water therein is at the normal lever arisesfrom the fact that the specific construction of the relief-tube which Iemploy is such as to prevent the siphon action of said tube. In otherwords, during the operation of the siphon, comprising the arms 1, 2, and3, the relief-tube of my improved apparatus is idle, and hence provisionmust be made, as above set forth, for properly charging the relief-tube,and I have found in practice that this may be accomplished efficientlyfrom opposite ends of the tube by exposing the discharge end of therelief-tube to the overflow of the dischargearm of the siphon and soarranging the inletarm of the relief-tube as to be charged from thedescending arm of the siphon when the water in the latter is at thenormal level.

The upwardly-extending loop formed by the arms 8 and 10 of therelief-tube prevents a siphon action through the relief-tube or a flowof water through said tube during the operation of the siphon, and myimproved flushing apparatus is so constructed as to prevent such a flowof water through the relief-tube in order to prevent the choking orclogging of the relief-tube by floating or suspended objects in thewater. It is obvious that with the ordinary construction of flushingapparatus, wherein the relief-tube consists of an auxiliary siphon soconstructed as to cooperate with the main siphon after the siphon actionhas been started, any floating objects or dirt carried by the water willenter the auxiliary as well as the main siphon, and owing to the smallcaliber of the auxiliary siphon an obstruction thereof is liable toresult. It is my object in practice to employ a relief-tube of unusuallysmall diameter, and in order to protect this relief-tube from foreignobjects and accumulations, and thus insure the continued operation ofthe device, I have found it necessary to provide against the flow ofWater through the relieftube during the operation of the siphon. Hencefrom its point of communication with the descending arm of the siphonthe relieftube extends in a direction opposite to that of watertraversing the siphon and any solid particles or matter carried by thewater will pass the inlet end of the relief-tube after entering thesame. Furthermore, the upwardextending loop formed by the arms 10 and 8of the relief-tube prevents any water entering the discharge end of therelief-tube by the overflow from the siphon-arm 2 (during the operationof the siphon) from escaping from the relief-tube by traversing the sameto its inlet end. In other words, said loop forms a check to prevent abackward flow of water through the relief-tube during the operation ofthe siphon and maintain any water which has entered in the discharge-arm9 of the relief-tube. Thus after the siphon action has been broken andthe inlet-arm 8 of the relief-tube is charged from thesiphonarm 1 therelief-tube is ready for operation even should there be a space filledonly by air between the blocks of water located, respectively, in thearms 8 and 9, as hereinbefore explained.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. A flushing apparatushaving a siphon comprising an inlet-arm, a descending arm communicatingat its upper end with the inlet-arm, and an ascending or outlet arm ofless length than the descending arm, and a relief-tube having anascending inlet-arm, in communication only at its lower inlet end withthe descending arm of the siphon, at an intermediate point with saidinlet end normally submerged, an ascending outlet-arm, arranged at itsdischarge end adjacent to the plane of the discharge end of the siphonascending arm, and a descending arm connecting said inlet and outletarms, substantially as specified. Y

2. A flushing apparatus having a siphon comprising an inlet-arm, adescending arm communicating at its upper end with the inlet-arm, and anascending or outlet arm of less length than the descending arm, and arelief-tube having an ascending inlet-arm, in communication only at itsnormally submerged lower inlet end with the descending arm of the siphonat an intermediate point, an ascending outlet-arm arranged at itsdischarge end adjacent to the plane of the discharge end of the siphonascending arm, a descending arm connecting the ascending arms of therelief-tube, and a trap in said relief-tube arranged between thedescending arm and the ascending outlet-arm and below the plane of theinlet end of the relief-tube inlet-arm, substantially as specified.

3. A flushing apparatus having a siphon comprising an inlet-arm, adescending arm communicating at its upper end with the inlet-arm, and anascending or outlet arm of less length than the descending arm, arelieftube having an ascending inlet-arm in communication at its lowerinlet end with the descending arm of the siphon at an intermediatepoint, said inlet end being normally submerged an ascending outlet-armarranged with its discharge end slightly above the plane of thedischarge end of the siphon ascending arm, a descending arm connectingthe ascending arms of the relief-tube, and a trap interposed betweensaid descending and outlet arms of the relief-tube, substantially asspecified.

4. A flushing apparatus having a siphon comprising an inlet-arm, adescending arm communicating at its upper end with the in let-arm, andan ascending or outlet arm of less length than the descending arm, arelieftube having an ascending inlet-arm in communication at its lowerinlet end with the descending arm of the siphon at an intermediatepoint, said inlet end being normally submerged, an ascending outlet-armarranged with its discharge end slightly above the plane of thedischarge end of the siphon ascending arm, a descending arm connectingthe ascending arms of the relief-tube, and a trap interposed betweensaid descending and outlet arms of the relief-tube, and arranged belowthe plane of the inlet end of the relieftube inlet-arm, substantially asspecified.

5. A flushing apparatus having a tank, a siphon having a descending armand a connected ascending arm, said descending arm extending at itsupper end above'the plane of the bottom of the tank, and an inlet-armconsisting of a dome inclosing the portion of the descending arm whichis within the tank and seated at its lower edge upon the floor of thetank, an inlet-conveyer communicating at opposite ends with the interiorof the tank respectively Within and without said dome, and means foradmitting air to the interior of the dome, substantially as specified.

6. A flushing apparatus having a tank, a

siphon having a descending arm and a connected ascending arm, saiddescending arm extending at its upperend above the plane of the bottomof the tank, and an inlet-arm consisting of a dome inclosing the portionof the descending arm which is Within the tank and seated at its loweredge upon the floor of the tank, an inlet conveyer communicating atopposite ends with the interior of the tank respectively Within andWithout said dome, and a snifi tube having its inlet end arrangedcontiguous to the plane of the floor of the tank and at its upper endadjacent to the plane of the upper end of said descending arm of thesiphon, substantially as specified.

7. A flushing apparatus having a siphon comprising an inlet-arm, adescending arm, and an ascending or outlet arm, and a relieftubecommunicating with the descending arm at an intermediate point below thenormal water-level therein and extending upward from its point ofcommunication therewith, said relief-tube being of looped constructionand having a trap located below the plane of .its point of connectionwith said siphon de scending arm, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES W. BERRY.

Witnesses:

A. S. CRAMER, JNo. OSBONE.

